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A woman has been turned away from a hotel she booked in India because she was travelling alone.

Nupur Saraswat had received a booking confirmation from the Hotel Deccan Erragadda, in Hyderabad, but was left standing on the street outside when hotel staff refused to honour it because she was unaccompanied.

Saraswat, from Singapore, complained about the way she was treated on social media and was greeted with shock and support from all over the world.

"So, I am standing outside a hotel in Hyderabad which didn't let me stay because they realised I was a 'single lady' even after confirming the online booking,” she wrote on Facebook. “Massive bag in hand, gross from the journey just standing outside the hotel. Somehow they decided I was safer on the streets than in the hotel.”

She also posted a photo of the hotel's policy that states "Single lady not allowed" and "Locals and unmarried couples not allowed".

Saraswat was offered an apology and a refund by Goibibo, the online travel agent she booked with, and also given a complimentary stay in an alternative hotel.

"We have de-listed the Hotel Deccan Erragadda from our platform pending the investigation," Goibibo said in a statement on its website.

“We are taking up with local authorities/police and hotel management for the rationale behind such policies.”

Its statement also included a response from the hotel, which said the hotel was "not against... single women staying in our hotel", but that the hotel was not in the right area for single women "as per local police interaction we don’t give rooms to single woman and unmarried couples".

It continued: "Further you can check all the hotels in this locality [have] the same hotel policies as mentioned."

The hotel is listed as being above Punjab National Bank in an area of Hyderabad Credit:
This content is subject to copyright./Walter Bibikow

Saraswat told BBC Tamil that she had travelled extensively across India and to several other countries and had never been refused a room on the basis that she was a "single lady".